Change of life
by Evila
Summary: Heart-broken and alone, will Mei accept Sinedd's life changing offer? And how will her team react? Nothing will be the same for our little defender. Complete!
1. Broken

**Hello to all people, animals, plants and boys. It's a pretty random idea, and I got some help with it. Enjoy!**

**I do not own Galactik football, but it's only a matter of time before micro-ice is mine!!**

Mei felt hurt and broken, like she'd been abandoned. Her mind raced with D'Jok's final words:

'_The bottom line is that it isn't working out'_

Which was weird because she thought it was working out fine, amazingly well, in fact. Then he had left her! He just left the room, leaving her to stare in disbelief at the closed door. Before that last sentence, he'd been babbling on about how hard his life was at the moment.

Thinking back, D'Jok was the only one she went to, the only one she talked to and the only one she bothered to get to know. Tia was a great friend but they don't really have anything in common.

Now, Mei was randomly walking around Akillian, getting lost and then finding her route again. She was so annoyed that she forgot to take her coat, she could feel the cold night air on her arms and face as she started to shiver.

What did she have in the team, now? Nothing. Her heart dropped when she answered her own question, tears ran down her face when she thought of where she stood. Aarch was a great coach but he didn't care what she wanted, she still had a secret desire to become an attacker, and she was too different to fit in with the others.

Mei didn't want to face the Snow Kids because no doubt D'Jok would be laughing and telling humourless jokes about her. She sat down on a snow covered bench and weighed her options. Either go back to her so-called friends or hide away forever. She could feel the cold snow soaking her trousers but she didn't care. She just didn't care anymore.

She brought her feet up onto the bench and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees while she let the tears flow freely down her face. She had never experienced heart break before, she broke a few but no one ever broke hers. She had never in her life felt so small and so alone as she did now.

Then the answer came to her. It was so obvious, how could she of missed it? There was one person she knew who grew up being alone. One and only person who knew what she was feeling.

Mei wondered around for ages trying to find him. She knew he was on Akillian because she was going to play against him and his team in two nights. Then, when she was about to give up, she found him, joking around, not a care in the world. She knew her life was about to change. And the one who would make it happen. Sinedd.

Sinedd was laughing with his team as they were doing terrible impersonations of different Galactik football stars.

Ralf stood up and tried to do Lurr, he stuck his tongue out and did that silly dance that they do just before a match. Sinedd hadn't laughed that hard in ages.

It was then Artix's go, and he conveniently chose the Cyclops. He got down onto his knees and shuffled around the room. He then widened his eyes and mimed the Cyclops' flux coming from one eye.

'Your go Sinedd' Said Ralf excitedly in his deep booming voice. 'I dare you to do… That SnowKid's defender. what's her name? Mei, yeah that's it.'

'This should be easy.' He sniggered as he bent down to touch his toes, he stuck his bum out and did those big baby eyes. Then he stood up strait and flicked his hair from left to right as if in slow-motion. Laughter broke though the room.

'Speaking of the devil' Telmig shattered to mood.

Sinedd turned to see Mei leaning against the wall. His good mood left him and a shadow of anger came over. I guess that's what the Shadows are all about, he thought.

'What do _you_ want?' he spat.

'I need to talk to you' she said, pushing herself off the wall and walking over to him.

'Go talk to D'Jok, or was it him who sent you? What do you have to say? Threats or promises of defeat? Whichever, I don't want to hear it.' he turned away to find that the rest of the Shadows were gathered round them.

'Actually, me and D'Jok aren't talking.' she looked down as she felt tears coming to her eyes. He can't see me cry, she thought urgently to herself.

He then had innocence plastered on his face 'Aww, you want me to make D'Jok apologise? I don't give a damn I just-'

'Will you just shut up, and let me talk!?!' she screamed, fire blazing in her eyes.

Sinedd looked at his team-mates and then at Mei. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her to someplace a little more private. He let go of her realising that he'd left a red mark on her forearm.

'You made a big mistake trying to find me, so if you've got something to say, spill.' he glared at her. Minutes ago he was laughing his head of and it only took one person to ruin the fun.

Mei locked eyes with him, blue against black whilst rubbing her arm. 'I'm not a SnowKid anymore, I don't fit in and to be honest, I couldn't care less about them.'

Sinedd leaned back against the wall, a smirk playing on this lips. 'So you're the first one to see sense, I was sure it was going to be Rocket.' he chuckled at the irony. 'Anyways, what did you want to see me for?'

'You're the only one I know who's dealt with the loneliness. I just wanted to know how you coped.'

An idea flew to his head, he wondered how much D'Jok would miss Mei if she just chose the other side.

'You don't have to be alone, you know.' Sinedd looked at her with kind eyes that she'd never seen before. 'Come and join the Shadows, I know Artegor would welcome you with open arms.'

She thought for a second, then spoke silently to D'Jok: I don't need you to move on, D'Jok. I can do it by myself. 'Great. When do I get started?'

'Whenever you want. Oh, and remember that you can't fly without your wings.' Sinedd winked.

She was confused 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means that however good to think you are, you still need help. Your team are your wings'

Mei looked down again. 'I guess I lost my old ones.' she muttered.

He shrugged, 'you've got knew ones now.' he couldn't wait for their next match. Just to see his face when he realised the mistake he'd made.

**Ha ha Cliffhanger!!!!! I added 3 OCs as you may of noticed, not planning to do much with them though.**


	2. Inner emotions

**Hey again, Thanks for the reviews. My friend abandoned me so I've got to continue on my own. She's crazy about Sinedd so I'm sure she'll be back.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

D'Jok sat up in his bed as he heard a knock at the door. Micro-ice obviously hadn't heard anything seeing that he was still snoring pretty loudly.

Tia rushed into the room, a worried look plastered on her face. 'Have you seen Mei?'

'No' he replied grumpily rubbing the back of his head. 'Why would she be here?'

'I've looked everywhere else.' she frowned.

'She's probably down at the bar or doing another ad' he turned and lay on his side, facing away from Tia.

Yeah, she calmed herself. Mei was into late night ads but she would've said something.

Tia shuffled back to her bedroom. She looked at the empty bed opposite hers. Just doing another ad, she told herself, she'll be back in the morning.

Early morning training! D'Jok ran into the training room to find everyone already there. Everyone except for Mei.

'You're late' Aarch waved his hand dismissively before D'Jok could reply and said 'it doesn't matter, just get into the hollow trainer with everyone else.'

Once the match was set up, D'Jok noticed Yuki in Mei's place. For a second, anger washed over him. Then it passed like a breeze, he remembered why he broke up with her.

'Where _is_ Mei, Micro-ice?' he asked his best friend.

'No one knows. We've sent out a search party. She couldn't have gone far. Akillian is a fairly small planet. Maybe she just needed space to think, that's what Rocket does, isn't it?'

D'Jok nodded, Mei did need space to think but it wasn't for the same thing that Micro-ice thought it was. D'Jok didn't tell anyone about what happened yesterday. He was guessing that she bolted right after their chat.

'Micro-ice, D'Jok, get into position!' came Aarch's voice.

D'Jok came face to face with the legendary striker of the Rykers. The ball shot up into the air and D'Jok passed it to Rocket who did a triple-summersault-twisty-turny and landed on his feet, then he passed to Micro-ice who back-kicked the ball into the net. Kernor now had the ball and she threw it all the way down the field to one of her team mates. Although clumsily, Yuki intercepted and D'Jok couldn't help but compare her to the ever graceful Mei. He shook his head but realised too late that the ball went right past him and off the field.

'D'Jok, keep you head in the game.' Aarch sounded angry.

D'Jok scored three more goals against Kernor with more force and frustration than usual. When the field faded bit by bit around them, D'Jok didn't wait for one of his coach's pep talks. He stormed out and went to his room. He had no idea why he was angry. There was no reason.

Someone knocked on his door, figuring it was Aarch, he shouted 'Go away, I'm not in the mood.'

The door opened anyway and Tia entered.

'Are you okay?' she was carrying a pink scrapbook by looks of it.

'Yeah hunky-dory. What's that? He pointed to the book.

'Did anything happened between you and Mei?' She looked unconvinced as he shook his head. 'I found this in her wardrobe.' She threw the book onto the bed and walked out. Tia seemed to be more afraid for Mei than the others, D'Jok thought.

He picked up the book, on the cover were the words D'Jok + Mei and a photo of her leaning on his chest while he looked nervous and somewhat uncomfortable.

Inside was chaos: ripped photos, pages torn out all sorts of memories from scoring goals to going on different planets, all of either Mei, D'Jok or both. He came to the last page where he found their first kiss in black and white as in a happy ending. At the bottom of the page where the words 'I guess fairytales were only for books.'

He waited for disappointment to overcome him, but it never did. The only thing he could feel was frustration, but not at himself.

At Mei.

Mei went strait to her house. She was spending the night there and meeting up with Sinedd tomorrow so she could get started on her new training. She felt guilty about not telling the Snow Kids where she was going and what she was doing but she didn't want to hear what they had to say. Especially Aarch. Her heart dropped when she remembered all he had done for her.

She shook her head, one thing at a time she told herself. At the moment, she can just worry about Sinedd and the fierce Artegor. One side of her was exited about what was to come but the other side was sad at what she was leaving behind. She remembered the scrapbook she had made. Normally she wasn't the type to create that sort of stuff, she was a 'live in the moment' kinda gal. it was Yuki who came up with the idea of making a book of memories and she had such fun making it.

She lay down on her bed. Still, she was moving on and was proud of herself.

Another thing that worried her was that Sinedd had said that she had to learn the smog. She was used to the breath. That feeling of warmth that came from you, that feeling that you were unstoppable and of course, the elegance of it.

The smog is powerful but dangerous. She remembered what Aarch had told them: 'the smog almost destroyed me'. In some ways, she was scared of it.

Her thoughts trailed on to Artegor. He had a rough reputation but it obviously worked seeing how far the Shadows had gotten.

Considering all of this, she still couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Sinedd had said that they train very early in the day so she went to bed before it became dark.


	3. Training

**Lol, I'm livin the dream! **

When her alarm went, Mei sleepily sat up and looked out of the window. It was still dark. She'd never woken up this early before. She switched the alarm off and got up. She put her normal clothes on, grabbed her coat and ran out of her house after a quick goodbye to her parents.

She reached the _rendezvous_ place to find Sinedd waiting for her already in his usual football outfit.

'C'mon, Artegor's waiting for us.' He said annoyingly.

'You train at this hour?' she raised an eyebrow at him.

'Sometimes' he shrugged as if it was no big deal. 'You know, not very many of them were happy about you joining the team.'

She was silent as they entered the building that was just behind them. They went through doors and up stairs until they arrived at a football field where the rest of the Shadows were playing against themselves.

'We don't have Clamp to make us a hollow trainer but this is a close second.' Sinedd said, admiring his comrades.

'So it was true? I thought Sinedd over here was telling lies' Artegor was walking towards them, a smug smile on his face.

Mei managed to give him a smile, she wasn't his greatest fan but he was her coach from now on, she might as well respect him.

'This is how it's going to work around here, we'll train and train until you've mastered the smog. We won't put you against the Snow Kids if you haven't learned by then.' He turned to walk back to his team, then he remembered something 'Sinedd, show her her room, please?'

Sinedd sighed and started walking in the other direction.

'Charming' Mei muttered under her breath.

'You'll get used to him. He pushes us but that's what makes us a better team'

They went up yet more stairs until they reached a miserable looking room with one bed and a wardrobe.

'Get dressed and meet me on the field.' With that, he left.

Mei was momentarily disgusted, she was used to five-star hotels and luxury villas. She walked over to the bed to find the Shadows outfit with the number seven on it. She smiled, some things never change.

When she arrived on the field after quickly changing. She went to Artegor who was watching his team closely.

'Sinedd told me you wanted to become an attacker' he said, never taking his eyes off the players.

She leaped at the slight hope that he was going to let her play in the position she's always wanted to be on. 'Are you going to let me play on offence?' the hope was evident in her voice.

Artegor chuckled. 'Let's see you in defence first.' He turned towards her. 'You're playing against Sinedd. Show me what you've got.'

She was now bursting with energy. She ran to her place. She looked right only to find another Shadow's player. It was going to take time to get used to the idea of not playing alongside Thran.

Mei turned to see Sinedd on the move, heading strait for the goal. Instincts took over and without much difficulty, she blocked him and retrieved the ball, passing it to a striker. Sinedd disappeared in a cloud of black, just to reappear in front of the striker. The ball was now in his possession. He was coming towards her. She felt the familiar warmth of the breath beginning to take over, she gave into it willingly. The blue mist encircled her and she somehow got the ball back and sent it flying towards the net. The first goal was made.

Mei was proud of herself until she saw everyone staring at her, all eyes filled with rage.

'That is not how we do things around here!' screamed Artegor. He took a deep breath and said 'that's it for today, Sinedd, my office.' Sinedd looked confused but followed his coach back inside.

'I don't like what I've just seen, Sinedd.' Artegor started pacing around the room.

'What do you want me to do about it?' he spat.

'I want you to make her feel comfortable here. Make her adapt to our rules. She has to lose the breath and find the smog, I'm counting on you.'

Sinedd knew better then to argue, 'fine' then he left to find Mei.

How could she run away from her problems? How could she abandon them before one of the biggest of matches in Galactik football? And the most troubling question: how come he can't get her out of his head?

D'Jok had another sleepless night. Two days after Mei's disappearance, the search party came up empty handed. The whole team was concerned but none more than Aarch. Although he could easily replace Mei with Yuki, he was responsible for her. If any harm came to his old defender, his name would be on the 'blame' list. The Snow Kids have visibly stepped down a notch. Not because Yuki was a bad defender, just a bit under trained. But most of all because no one can focus, especially D'Jok.

He still hadn't told the rest what had happened between them. It was his fault she left.

Now, the morning before the match against the Shadows, Dame Simbai was making the rounds, checking that everyone was in good condition. Everyone was in their rooms, preparing. D'Jok and Rocket were the only ones who accepted that they are at a huge disadvantage, the others lived in faint hope.

D'Jok was thinking how weird it was that he hadn't heard anything from the Shadows since Mei left. Normally, Sinedd was boasting about how much stronger his team was but he was nowhere to be seen. Must be busy training, D'Jok thought with a smile, only 'cause he's scared of the mighty SnowKids.

'Where do you think she went?' he asked Simbai.

Simbai was busy checking him over, she looked up at him. 'If I was her, the only place I would think of going would be to my parents, she-' she was interrupted when D'Jok stood up, suddenly agitated.

'Of course, why didn't I think of that?' he grabbed his coat and headed to the door.

'Where are you going?' Micro-ice sat up, he was watching an old football match and was eerily quiet until now.

'Mei's house.' he didn't say much more as he rushed out the room.

When he arrived, he knocked confidently on the door, Mei's mother answered the door a second or two later as if she was waiting for someone.

She looked disgusted with what she saw like the cat brought a dead mouse into the house.

'Hi…umm, is Mei in?' D'Jok finally got a hold on himself.

'No, she went yesterday, she didn't tell us where and according to the papers, she hasn't returned to _you_.' her voice was cold, she looked… empty, there was no other way to describe her.

D'Jok closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Where was she?

Before he opened his eyes again, he heard the front door slam shut. He obviously wasn't wanted in some parts. He turned and slowly made his way back to Aarch academy.


	4. Long awaited match

**Hey to all, mes amis! I've got a pink cactus and it's sprouting like Jack's beanstalk! Quite scary actually.**

Sinedd and Mei were standing in the middle of the field. They were dressed in their football gear. Sinedd was going to play the Snow Kids this afternoon but he was trying to get some last-minute training in for Mei.

He was walking slowly around her while explaining what the smog was. 'No one really knew where it came from but what we do know is that it's the complete opposite to the breath. The breath is courage, hope and warmth, while the smog is determination, willpower and coldness'

Mei wasn't sure she wanted to feel the coldness of the smog. But there was no going back now. Under Sinedd's command, she closed her eyes.

'Now, look deep inside yourself. At first you'll think you feel anger, give into it, let it take over.' he was still pacing around her.

She was surprised when frustration flared up from a non-existent source. She clenched her jaw but otherwise gave no resistance. She could actually _feel_ the black cloud expanding from her body. She felt like a door had been opened.

Then she felt hands on her shoulders which instantly calmed her down. She opened her eyes to find Sinedd smiling triumphantly at her. 'Did I do it?' she whispered.

He nodded 'the first stages, at least' he took his hands off her shoulders and stood up strait. 'C'mon, Artegor will get impatient.' They walked to the debriefing room where the coach was giving a pep talk to his players.

'Where have you two been?' Artegor said, his voice straining to stay calm.

Sinedd tilted his head towards Mei. 'She's got the smog.'

Artegor looked taken aback, as if he didn't know if she had it in her. He turned and readdressed his team. 'Right, everyone on the field, Mei replacement.' He walked off, gesturing her to follow as the Shadows prepared to go. When they got to the coach's panel, Mei sat down in a chair next to Artegor so she could see what was going on.

She saw the Snow Kids arrive on the field. It felt like someone stamped on her heart when D'Jok stood off the levitation thing. She frowned when she saw Yuki in her place as a defender.

Artegor saw her discomfort and thought to himself, it was their loss and our gain. He felt smug.

Suspense was building as they waited for the buzzer to start the game.

The first half and during the first twenty minutes of the second, the two teams weren't really getting anywhere. Just defending, attacking then defending again. The Snow Kids were playing clumsily and as far as Mei could see, they'd only used the breath about twice. The game was mostly played against Sinedd and Ahito who wasn't playing as badly as the others.

Ahito caught the ball and sent it flying over to Rocket who quickly lost it to a Shadow defender who passed it to a midfielder. Then the obvious happened. Rocket got mad and tried to get the ball back which ended with the Shadow's player on the ground. A fault was made. The worst part was when the player didn't get up.

Mei's heart hammered as she knew what was about to happen. Artegor turned around, frustration plastered on his face, then he smirked at her and her fears were confirmed.

'Go' was all he said. Something told her he wasn't all that pleased with the situation. He turned back to the control panel. 'Telmig, you're on midfield.'

She tried to take deep breaths before she entered the field.

D'Jok watched Rocket being brought off the field. Then he observed the Shadow's player being carried off.

All eyes were on the door where the players came out. No one knew there was a replacement, but as the levitation came parallel to the pitch, D'Jok had to remind himself how to breathe.

Mei was standing before him, as clear as day. The whole stadium was quiet. Nobody moved, nobody breathed, the atmosphere was suffocating.

D'Jok looked at her, up and down. She was wearing the Shadow's outfit but she still had the number seven.

Sinedd looked at what he'd been waiting for, the stared at all of the Snow Kids in turn, priceless, he thought.

Mei took her place. The Snow Kid's performance was even worst than when they had started.

'Don't let her put you off' Aarch tried to shake his team out of it. 'She's just another Shadow player.' it didn't work.

D'Jok put his feelings aside and received a pass from Micro-ice.

Sinedd's words echoed in her head, _at first you'll think you feel anger, give into it, let it take over. _The familiar black clouds encircled her, she looked around her, everything changed, it was like she had a series of tunnels around her, she could chose which one to take. She ended up in front of D'Jok, he froze. She took the ball and passed it to Sinedd who didn't have any trouble scoring.

Mei felt a firm hand on her arm, she turned 'The field, after the match' D'Jok's eyes gave her nothing except maybe a hint of anger.

The buzzer sounded, indicating the end of the match. Shadow's won but the Snow Kid's weren't out yet. This was only one match of the qualifying.

**There, ha! The next chapter is Mei confronting D'Jok. There shall be fire mwahahaha**


	5. Unpleasant encounters

**Ok, so I understand the chapters are too short, so in all my laziness, I shall try to stretch 'em. I got the idea for this one when I was watchin episode 24 of season 1. You know Sinedd vs. D'Jok? One of my faves ;)**

Aarch, Dame Simbai and Clamp sill haven't moved from the control panel. They knew the Snow Kids were waiting for them but they still stared, shocked at the screen.

'This is all my fault' Aarch eventually said, putting his hands through his hair. 'Everyone's going to blame me. I was responsible for her.' Even though the field had been cleared and there was nothing to look at, probably a you've-been-pranked film crew.

'Come on, Aarch, your team is waiting.' came Dame Simbai's voice.

'Well, there's nothing else to say' Artegor looked around, no one was tired. Mei was used to a loud praise from Aarch instead of this couldn't-care-less attitude.

When Artegor finally left the room, they went off to go and get dressed, except Mei who was waiting to get back out on the field.

'They lost because of you and we won because of you' she jumped when she heard Sinedd's voice, she wasn't the only one who hadn't changed. He was leaning against the wall. He looked at her curiously, 'How do you feel?'

She frowned 'Fine.'

'No, but how do you feel?' he nodded towards the field.

She sighed 'like I betrayed them. Did you see the way they looked at me? How everyone looked at me? From this point on, everyone's going to judge me.'

'Like _you_ betrayed _them_?' Sinedd's amused expression confused her. 'Listen, remember why you left, they didn't want you. Remember what looks they gave you back then.'

That did it, she remembered D'Jok's blazing eyes when he turned away from her just after he blurted out the deadline.

Sinedd was proud of himself. Whatever happened, Mei could not have doubts, she can not rethink what she's done. When her eyes changed and became… unforgiving, he knew he was in the clear.

She used the smog to get onto the field. D'Jok was already waiting for her. He looked at her again. The thing that really stood out were her eyes from baby to icy blue. From a show-off, to bitter.

'So it came to this, huh?' his voice was empty. 'Just answer one question for me. Why the Shadows?'

She looked at him, still full of rage at what Sinedd had told her. 'Because Sinedd was the only one who understood how I felt.' they started walking in a circle from opposite sides of the pitch.

D'Jok laughed ironically 'because Sinedd was always the one to talk to?' before she could reply, he waved his hand dismissively. 'Why did you just take off, you didn't tell anyone, not even your mother, we were worried.'

Wait, did he just say her mother? She shook her head, it wasn't important. 'Why did _you_ just take off? I needed you'

'So it all comes back to you. I see the smog's working out for you, it doesn't really suit you but your choice, I guess.'

She rolled her eyes. 'I left because of you. You deserve what you're getting'

'So this is about revenge?' he raised his eyebrows

'No, this is about me, being old enough to make my own decisions.' their voices getting louder 'not the ones you tell me to make.'

He started walking towards her. He grabbed her forcibly by the shoulders. 'Maybe I deserved that but the team didn't, you saw how we played today.'

She looked up at him, 'That's your problem not mine' His grip tightened. She tried to push him away but he was to strong.

'Hey' said a different voice, Sinedd. No doubt he was watching and waiting

D'Jok let go of Mei and pointed an accusing finger at Sinedd. 'This is your fault'

Sinedd put his hands up defensively. 'She came to me. You know, D'Jok, if you can't respect people's decisions, you're never going to get through life' He was obviously teasing now. He came to a standstill next to Mei.

D'Jok gave Mei a look that pained her. She can't stay here, she had to get out.

'What did he do to make you change your mind?' The anger left him and he was numb inside. Mei just stared at him.

'He taught me that I couldn't fly without my wings'

'Meaning?'

'Meaning I don't need the Snow Kids, I don't need you, D'Jok' she turned but not before seeing a tear fall down his face.

She walked off before anything else was said. Leaving D'Jok on his own to stare at the ground.

'_I don't need you'_

He couldn't get those words out of his head. Every time he thought of something else, his mind trailed back to _her_. The girl who could tackle anyone, the girl who looked up to him, the girl who gave him her heart, the heart that he threw back, the girl who had changed more in a couple of days than any girl would change in a year.

D'Jok sat up in bed. It had been three days since the match against the Shadows and he'd never felt worse. He ate less than usual and training was way off. No one really took it well when Mei left.

Then D'Jok's mind drifted to Sinedd. He'll never get the image of him standing next to Mei out of his head. Who would of thought it? Mei with the Shadows. He smiled at the irony.

'I knew this would happen!' Aarch shouted and threw the newspaper down. On the cover was the headline _The defender in need of defence?_ And underneath, a picture of Mei and Aarch smiling for the camera.

Aarch started pacing the room in front of Clamp. It was Clamp who had showed him the paper, he knew it wouldn't bring any good but it's not like he could've hidden it from the coach. Word would have most likely spread to nearly every planet by now. Aarch and his team are at a huge disadvantage.

'Where in the universe did they get the idea that I was… rough with her?' Aarch started muttering to himself.

Clamp awkwardly looked at his feet, he didn't know what to say.

Aarch looked expectantly at him, 'Clamp, do you know what this could do? They could disqualify us for that.' he pointed an accusing finger at the paper.

Clamp sighed, 'they can't disqualify us, firstly because they have no proof and secondly because Adim wouldn't stand for it.'

Aarch took little comfort from these words. If he knew the press, he knew they would find some non-existent proof and there was only so much Adim could do. He stopped pacing and sat with a 'humph' on the nearest chair.

'Have you noticed D'Jok?' Aarch said.

'Yeah, he's really gone downhill this past week. It's like this whole thing is destroying him, slowly'

Aarch thought about that, 'get me D'Jok' was all he said.

'But it's late, he will be sleeping' not wanting to be the one to wake him, Clamp was trying to make up an excuse to leave him be.

Aarch buried his face in his hands. 'No he won't, now hurry.'

Standing in Aarch's office, D'Jok was wide awake. He didn't know why Aarch had called for him but he was about to find out.

'Did something happen between you and Mei before the match against us and the Shadows?'

Oh no! he didn't think it would be this. Clearly he'd underestimated his coach. His eyes flickered around the room and he shuffled from foot to foot, rather uncomfortably. 'No, there was no reason for her to leave, it took us all by surprise' at least his voice didn't betray him.

Clamp saw the uneasiness and frowned but chose not to say anything.

Aarch was exhausted, after everything that has been going on, he couldn't go a minute without his head pounding. He hadn't been this stressed out in years.

Once D'Jok and Clamp had gone, he picked up the paper he had chucked onto his desk. In the picture, Mei was in her Shadow's gear. Who would've thought it? So much had changed this week, it was hard to get your head around it.

Without bothering to walk to his bedroom, he fell asleep on the chair.

Mei kept tossing and turning in her bed, trying to get comfortable. She had enough of her mother questioning her and accusing her that she took a suitcase and filled it with necessary items. Now she stays at Artegor Academy 24/7.

Mei has only had as little as two hours of sleep each night. She couldn't get D'Jok's face out of her head.

Sinedd is moody but protective, funnily enough, she felt closer to him than to the rest. Who would've thought it?

**Right, so, umm, … I hope my laziness has paid off!**


	6. Distractions

**Hey hey! Sorry for the wait!**

Sinedd leaned against the door watching Mei turning uncomfortably in her bed, he noticed that she'd been uneasy ever since her meeting with D'Jok. He frowned in the dim light. It was only when she sat up when he realised that she was awake.

'What are you doing here?' she asked, brushing her hair aside with her fingers.

He went and sat at the end of her bed. Ignoring her question, he asked 'what's on your mind?'

Mei looked at him with an amused expression, 'why do you care?' she said. He just shrugged. After a moment, she answered 'I don't know what to do, Sinedd. Everything has become too complicated. I can't think clearly.' she sunk into her bed and frowned at herself.

He thought about what to say, he had to be careful about this. 'You know, they say a problem shared is a problem halved, you can talk to me' he felt slightly uncomfortable but didn't show it.

She just turned on her side and looked out the window. Eventually, Sinedd lay down beside her, forcing her to look at him. No one said anything for a while, they just gazed at each other. His breath tickling her cheek.

It was Sinedd who broke the silence, 'you know, I could talk Artegor into letting you play on offence.'

Mei beamed at him, 'You'd do that?'

He thought for a second, 'it shouldn't be too hard.' They fell silent again, then Mei threw her arms around him. After a moment of surprise, he put his arms around her waist and leaned into her.

'Thanks,' she whispered in his ear.

They lay there looking at each other for what seemed like ages.

Aarch woke up the next day to Dame Simbai sitting next to him, looking worried.

'What time is it?' he asked groggily.

'It's ten o'clock in the morning' Once she said that, he was on full alert.

'Why did I sleep in? I never oversleep. I need to get to training.' he started to get up but Dame Simbai pushed him back down.

'Relax, Clamp is working with them now.' Before he could ask any questions, she said, 'we didn't wake you up because you're too stressed, we were worried about you.' Aarch flashed her a smile of gratitude, but got up anyways. Dame Simbai was about to argue but she knew, from passed experience, that he's too stubborn to listen to her.

After Aarch threw on some fresh clothes, he rushed to the training room to find Clamp, as promised, at the control panel, with Yuki in the hollow trainer and the rest of the team on the sidelines.

'I don't want this to happen again, Clamp.' Clamp jumped when he heard Aarch's voice. He turned to find him marching towards him with Dame Simbai close at his side.

Once he was in his place he observed Yuki, she was growing in both goal and defence. He ordered Micro-ice to get in with her.

'Yuki, you'll play both goal and defence.' said Aarch

'Both?' Dame Simbai looked astonished, as did the rest of the team.

'You'll see.'

The game started out as usual, Micro-ice had the ball while Yuki was in goal. She blocked his first attempt, punching the ball away from the net. The ball came back to Micro-ice. Yuki came out, away from the net and swiped the ball from him and sent it shooting into the opposite goal.

That was all it took. D'Jok got up and walked out of the room. Not that anyone noticed, they were all too busy congratulating Yuki and teasing Micro-ice.

_Was Mei that easy to replace?_ Were the words that rushed to his head. He had to try once again to find her, he had to bring her back.

Mei sat up and shifted a yawn. She observed her room as she had done every morning. If wasn't luxury but it was hers and she accepted it. She often mused over the idea of giving it a makeover.

Then she realised she wasn't alone. She turned to find Sinedd fast asleep beside her. She chuckled, his hair was scruffy but other than that, he looked peaceful. Without the killer-glare, he seemed…normal, carefree. It suited him.

Mei noticed that he was still dressed while she was in her pyjamas. She got up, then Sinedd groaned.

A hand came up to his head, he sighed and opened his eyes.

'Hey, you know, I could report you' Mei put her hands on her hips, looking dead serious. 'You don't just sleep in girls rooms.'

'You could, but will you?' he looked at her, his eyebrow raised.

She couldn't help but laugh. Sinedd put his hands behind his head and stared at her.

'No, go away. I'm getting dressed.' Mei dragged him off the bed and pushed him out the door. She turned and froze, wait, she thought to herself, what just happened? Did I … she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Did Sinedd… nope that one didn't work either.

She pushed her thoughts aside and started to get dressed. She had the whole day to herself, seeing as Artegor had given them a day off training, and hadn't a clue what to do.

Go with the flow, she thought.

'You can take the rest of the day off' declared Aarch after another off training session. Before D'Jok got out of the room, he heard his coach add, 'except you; D'Jok.'

He sighed and turned to look at him. He had a pretty good idea what his coach was about to say.

'I've noticed that you seem to be taking this worse than the others.' Aarch began, 'and it's hit all of us hard but I still need you to try your hardest, don't put it against me when I say that you need to push Mei aside, at least just for the match.'

D'Jok nodded reluctantly, you could never hide anything from Aarch.

'Get back in the hollow trainer, we need to go over the basics.' Once he'd said that, Dame Simbai looked nervously at Aarch, almost certain this was a bad idea.

Once D'Jok was in place, Clamp put Micro-ice's clone in plus the Wamba defenders. 'Just pass each other the ball while dodging the Wambas' explained Aarch.

Once the ball was in motion, everything was easy, running up the field, the ball zigzagging between the two players. Jumping out of the way of the left defender, D'Jok shot the ball into the net.

'That was good, now, we're going to try something a bit different' he heard Aarch's voice, then the Wambas disappeared and in their place was the Shadow defenders, one of which was Mei. D'Jok had to remind himself how to breathe. Seeing Mei standing there with her hands on her hips, was enough for the blood to leave his face.

'Don't worry about her, do it just like you did with the Wambas'

Micro-ice's clone passed him the ball, it went strait past his face, missing him by inches. It was enough to snap him out of his daze, though. He got the ball and ran up the field, when he was close enough, Mei started running towards him. He kicked the ball up, shot but missed the net by miles. It felt like there was a huge weight on his chest.

'This isn't healthy, Aarch.' Dame Simbai said. 'He can't concentrate.'

'Alright, let him out' he sighed.

Micro-ice had been watching behind the door, waiting for his best friend. He never really saw the effect that this was having on him. He had to do something about it.

Mei walked out of Artegor Academy to find Sinedd waiting for her. She rolled her eyes playfully at him and kept on walking. He laughed and ran to catch up with her.

They walked for ages just talking about everything and nothing, football most of the time. Mei had moments where she felt uncomfortable, like they were being followed. They weren't really walking to anywhere in particular, but they ended up in front of the famous Akillian café, run by Micro-ice's mother. Snow was starting to fall so they decided to go inside.

Everything went deadly silent when Mei entered, honestly, she thought, if looks could kill. She had never really been an extra emotional girl but she still felt the blood rush to her face. Obviously she wasn't welcome, she knew all too well that everyone in this room are huge Snow Kids fans.

Mei was hit by a sharp headache. Her hand went to her head as she turned to leave, Sinedd reluctantly following.

'Are you alright?' he asked. 'You've gone all pale.'

The cold air soothing her head, she said, 'yeah, I'm fine, I just-' movement in the bushes caught her attention, 'I knew we were being followed. Stay here, I'll be right back.'

She walked to the bush to find Micro-ice kneeling down trying to stay out of sight, he jumped when he saw her. 'I take it you're not randomly looking through bushes.' Mei put her hands on her hips and couldn't help but smile. 'Why were you following me?'

'I need to talk to you, but without _him_' he nodded towards Sinedd who had gone back into the café. 'It's about D'Jok,' he waited for her reaction.

'I don't want to know, if he wants to talk to me, feel free but I don't take messages.' She meant to walk away but was stopped by Micro-ice.

'He didn't send me, you're destroying him, he can't play properly' talk about getting to the point!

She shrugged, 'his problem.'

'It isn't, though, when I was watching you, just now, I saw it. You're distracted, you can't think clearly, it's the same look D'Jok has.'

The headache came back though sharper, but she was confidant not to show it. 'just stop following me' was all she said and turned.

'You've changed,' he yelled as she walked away. 'It's Sinedd, isn't it? You changed because of him.'

Mei didn't look back, she couldn't. whatever Micro-ice was doing, it was effecting her badly.

Sinedd had come back out and was waiting for her. They walked back to Artegor academy. Sinedd keeping and eye on her. He knew something was up.

**Ok so, this wasn't the best of chapters but it's leading up to the next one.**


	7. Oneonone

**Hope this clears things up**.

When Micro-ice came back into his bedroom, he found his best friend lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

'Where have you been?' D'Jok asked without much interest.

'To see Mei' he replied a little too quickly and instantly regretted it for D'Jok sat up and stared at him like he was crazy. Before he could say anything, Micro-ice spoke first, 'She's leaving in four days to go to the Rykers planet for more qualifying match's and we leave in a week for the Wambas. This might be our last chance to…' he drifted off, hoping his friend would catch on.

D'Jok smirked at him. 'Last chance for what? You're too high on hopes, Micro-ice. She's made her choice.'

'Is that how you really feel?'

D'Jok lay back down and put his fingers under his pillow. His fingers brushed Mei's trashed diary. Micro-ice had to stop himself from breaking into a mocking smile as he watched his best friend dwell over the question.

'I don't know, I just feel…'

'Distracted?' Micro-ice said helpfully.

D'Jok nodded, 'I guess.'

'You miss her, don't you?' he had him wrapped around his little finger, D'Jok looked uncomfortable and avoided eye contact. It was a very simple question but it has to have a definite answer, something D'Jok wasn't good at.

'I just think we're not doing as well as we did, we need her for the team's sake.' Was that _really_ the best excuse he could come up with, he thought angrily to himself.

Micro-ice obviously didn't believe him but decided not to press the matter. 'I'm off to find Yuki' he said and shuffled out of the room.

'What's up with you?' Sinedd was pacing in front of Mei. Although Artegor gave them the day off, they found nothing else to do so Mei came up with the idea of one-on-one training. Sinedd was getting impatient, it has been over an hour and Mei had been all over the place.

'I'm trying,' she said desperately. 'I'm not feeling very well, that's all.' She was sitting on a bench, watching Sinedd march back and forth in front of her.

'It's Micro-ice, isn't it? What did he say this morning?'

'Nothing, what's wrong? Why are you so hyper?' she asked. He sighed and sat down next to her.

'I just… everyone needs to be in good shape for the next match.'

'I'm still a replacement.' she smiled at him.

'Can I ask you something?' he waited for her to answer, she nodded with a slight frown. 'Are you torn? You know, between the Snow Kids and the Shadows?'

Mei licked her lips nervously before answering, 'I've made my choice. C'mon, I need help.' she stood up and went to stand in the middle of the field. He followed and took the ball.

They stood opposite one another, the ball at Sinedd's feet. Mei felt the smog rise from inside her. She smiled at her opponent.

'Come on, Rocket!' Aarch yelled before he made a perfect goal.

Rocket, like some of the others, wasn't effected as much by Mei's departure. It was a good thing, though. They might just get the better of the Wambas, if he's in shape.

Once he was out, it was D'Jok's turn to go in. Dame Simbai looked at Aarch with concern, she was worried that he'd do the same thing as last time.

He sighed and shook his head, 'just the basics, please, Clamp'.

D'Jok was quickly improving. As long as they stayed away from some _matters_, he was almost back to his old smug self, on the field, at least. Jumping the highest, back-kicking, head butting… but once training was over, he'd be in his room or out on long walks.

She stood up and looked at him, she could've sworn that he's looked like he was struggling the tiniest bit. Sinedd stared down at her once he took his place opposite her once again.

He disappeared in the usual blackness but Mei was expecting it, she followed suit. From playing with the shadows, she noticed that she was fast, faster than Sinedd. Where he appeared, she was within spitting distance of him. He kicked the ball high because that was mostly her weakness.

It wasn't finished though, Mei moved back, way back so she was in the place of the goalie. The ball came hurtling at her and she managed to sent it flying into the opposite goal.

'That makes two, one.' she said once he touched down.

'You're one for turning the tables around'

They went to sit on the bench, talking, laughing. Exactly what he planned for. Artegor watched as they finished up. Sinedd was doing a fine job, he thought to himself.

'About what we talked about before-' he started

Mei interrupted him, 'I stand by what I said, end of conversation.' She shrugged

'I talked to Artegor, by the way, he's as stubborn as when you as a tree to move.'

She looked disappointed for a moment, then shifted a yawn. 'I'm going to lie down' she told him and left.

Mei walked back to her room and sat on the bed. She needed someone to talk to, not Sinedd, not here. She searched her mind for someone, no one could possibly understand her position. Names passed through her head, D'Jok, no way, Micro-ice, she hesitated then thought better of it, Sinedd, nope, Artegor, out of the question. There was one name that wouldn't leave her, one name that might possibly help her.

She waited until it got dark and set off to Aarch academy.

**So because the chapters were short, I stuck them on to one another, cunning, hey?**

**Anyways, who thinks that Change, by Taylor Swift would be perfect for Galactik Football, for both seasons? The idea came to me last night.**


	8. Visitor

**My tests are now over, and I got my computer back, so I'll now be updating more often. I'll update monthly, I still have a busy life, you know.**

Tia sat with her team in the TV room, watching the Xenons vs. the Rykers. The Metal yell against the Heat. It was amazing.

'I think, although it's a good match, the Xenons will most defiantly win.' Rocket said. 'they stood unbeaten in the last world cup, until we came along.'

'Yeah, but they didn't play against the Rykers last time, plus the Rykers have the advantage of being on their own turf , it's anyone's game.' Micro-ice sat back in his chair, proud of what he said.

'I don't think anyone will win.' D'Jok piped up. 'It'll be a face off against Kernor and Lorr, then there will be an explosion and everyone will die.'

Everyone stared at him, a smile crept to his face and laughter filled the room. They were kind of getting use to Mei not being around, even though none of them would admit it.

'Who ever wins this match will play against us in the first round of the GFC.' Tia stated, studying closely as Kernor punched the ball out of the way.

'That is of course if we win the Wambas.' D'Jok replied.

'What happened to your self-confidence?' Micro-ice crossed his arms before he received a pillow in the face.

'Nothing, it's you I'm worried about. I was just thinking that you'd slow us down.' before long, the two of them were on the floor, play-fighting.

Rocket stood up, 'I'm gonna watch the match from my room. It's getting a little noisy in here.'

'I'll join you.' Tia stood up and left the room with him.

In Rocket's room, they lay on their bellies on his bed, watching the television. At this point, the Xenons were winning 3-1 and there was just two minutes left si it was pretty much decided.

'I'm going to get some lunch, you coming?' Rocket asked once the final buzzer sounded.

'Yeah, I'll be right there, I just need to get something.' She walked off back to her room.

When she opened the door, she gasped.

'Umm, hey.' Mei was sitting on her bed, or at least the bed she used to use.

'What are you doing here? How'd you get in?' Tia put her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

'Can you please close the door?' she looked worried for a second, but relaxed as soon as the door slammed. 'It wasn't hard getting in, I have a habit of going through front doors, and because everyone is so agitated in the telly room, I remained unseen.'

Tia sighed and came to sit next to her. 'Why are you here?' she asked as she studied her from head to toe. She looked the same apart from the closes and the eyes seem colder.

'I… had to talk to someone, someone who wouldn't put me in a position, you were the only person I could think of.'

'What do you want me to do?' Tia was more accusing than she intended to be.

'I… don't know,' she started clutching her head as the searing pain came back, stronger than before. Mei was breathing heavily and came down in a cold sweat.

'Mei, what's wrong?' Tia was starting to panic.

'The others… can't know I'm here.' then she passed out in a heap on the bed.

Tia's first thought was to get Dame Simbai, but could she keep a secret? _Who am I kidding?_ she thought, and rushed out of the room, locking the door behind her.

'Tia, I saved you a seat.' Rocket said as she ran into the dinner hall.

'I'm not hungry, sorry.' she passed him and headed out the opposite door, leaving everyone around the table curiously looking at one another.

Dame Simbai was in her headquarters, sorting out all of her medicine plants and potions. Her door opened and Tia hurried into the room.

'I need you, it's urgent, but you have to promise not to say anything to anybody, especially Aarch.' she waited for and answer as she hesitated.

Reluctantly, Dame nodded, 'As you wish, what's wrong?'

Once she stepped into the room, Dame Simbai looked astonished. She listened patiently while Tia told her everything that she'd said in the last ten minutes as she looked Mei over.

Once she was done, she stood up to face Tia, 'She's running a fever and, you said she was clutching her head?' she nodded. 'I can't say for sure what is going on but I'll do some more tests. All we can do is slow the heart down and give her something for the fever.' Dame Simbai turned to leave.

'Wait!' Tia called after her, 'what if she wakes up?'

'Just don't make her feel uncomfortable.' then she was gone.

* * *

In Artegor's office, Sinedd sat in a chair opposite his coach. They were mostly talking about tactics, little tricks that could give them the advantage on the Rykers planet.

They were nearly finished when Artegor asked, 'how's Mei doing?'

'She's… improving.' he said, not wanting to admit that he got beaten. 'She's fast.'

It wasn't what Artegor was asking but he went with it. He knew the only reason she stayed here was because of Sinedd.

**Maybe a bit on the cheesy side but I try my best, please review, I didn't get anything for the last chap. :(**


	9. Grounded

**Formally known as DemonDiva, MissSuzzie is at the keyboard. **

**I've already got the end to the story, well it could go both ways, not quite sure which I'll choose though.**

Tia sat on Mei's bed, watching Dame Simbai working. Worriedly chewing on her lip, she though about how it was only a matter of time until Sinedd, Artegor and everyone were looking for her.

After about half an hour, Mei groaned and put a hand to her head. Tia was on full alert. She'd never left her side, she felt that Mei wanted to say something, so she would be there once she woke up.

'How do you feel?' Dame Simbai asked once Mei took in her surroundings.

'Terrible,' she frowned at her then turned to Tia, 'You told her I was here?'

'You passed out, what was I supposed to do?'

Dame Simbai stood up and left saying she had to get more medicine.

'How long have I been here?' Mei asked, trying to sit up. Her eyes roamed the room, remembering all the little details her and Tia had laughed about. Like how this hotel was a health hazard because of the mouldy spot at the top right had corner of the ceiling, right under Tran and Ahito's room.

'About three hours,' Tia said and watched as Mei almost leaped out of bed. 'That wouldn't be a very good idea.' she said to her, trying to push her back down.

The door opened and everything froze in time. Tia got up, _how could I forget to lock the door?_ she thought. She rushed as quickly as possible to the door where she found Rocket with a small tray.

'Oh, umm hi? I thought that because to skipped lunch, you'd be a bit hungry.' he could have sworn that he saw movement in the room and tried to look over Tia's shoulder. He gave up after a few seconds of her getting in his way. That made it all too obvious that she had something she didn't want him to see.

'Thanks, Rocket, I just don't feel all that well, Dame Simbai was just helping me.' She accepted the tray and ushered him out of the room.

Mei came out from the other side of the bed, 'I have to go,' she said as she tracked down her shoes, 'the others will be looking for me, and if they catch me here…'

She opened the door to the balcony and calculated her way down, 'Hey Mei? You know, if you ever change your mind…' She didn't need to finish, Mei turned around and smiled.

'Thanks, Tia.'

Tia frowned, 'wasn't there something you wanted to say?' she asked, remembering when she first arrived.

Mei looked at the ground, 'it doesn't matter.' then, she climbed over to the other side of the railing and lowered herself to the next balcony, which was close enough to the ground for her to jump off. Then she started walking towards Artegor Academy.

She sighed frustratingly to herself, it was all one big waste of time.

Her head was still aching but it was a dull ache, unlike earlier when it was as sharp as daggers. She figured that it was Dame Simbai's doing.

The Shadows didn't really have a nurse, over there, it was pretty much every man for himself.

Mei decided to stop off by her house, she had forgotten one of her favourite shirts and she needed another pair of shoes. Although it had been a little over five days since she last saw her family, she didn't bother to knock, it was still her house, after all.

Mei's parents came around the corner, surprise written all over their faces. She didn't wait around, she trotted up the stairs to retrieve what she came here to find. Almost immediately, Mei's mother ran up the stairs behind her.

'Mei? Come back here, at once! You can't just barge in.' Her voice was getting louder as she followed her daughter into her room.

The simple in-and-out was Mei's plan. She got out her favourite T-shirt and grabbed a pair of trainers. Her mum went to block her way but she pushed past her, not saying a word, she had nothing to say to these people. That's all they were to her now 'people'. She had grown so far apart from her parents recently that she didn't even think about calling.

She got down the stairs and opened the door, only for it to be slammed shut with such rage that it made the walls shake. Her father had been waiting for her. 'You're not going anywhere.' He said in a quiet voice, 'starting from now, you're grounded.' Mei knew he was angry simply because he was red. He wasn't normally one to get angry, he was the quiet parent.

Mei was astonished, _grounded? I've never been grounded before._ she thought as she stared at her dad.

'You can't do that, I'm leaving in three days for a match,'

'Well until then, you're going nowhere.' It was her mother's turn to talk.

'But I've got to train.' All this was low, even for her parents.

'We have more rights over you then damn Artegor Nexus!'

'Rights? I'm not you're bloody dog!' Mei would've never dreamed in talking back to her parents but so much can change in, what was it? A week? She could laugh at the irony.

Her dad pointed towards the stairs, like he did when she was little, _very_ little.

Signifies: Got to your room or no dinner.

After one last deadly glare at her parents, (in their own turn) she trooped back upstairs. Arriving in her room, Mei slammed the door and threw the clothes onto the floor. Then she froze, maybe hangin' around the Shadows _had_ changed her.

She recognized her old mobile. Sitting on her desk. She grabbed it and put in Sinedd's number.

'Hello?' He answered after the third ring.

'Sinedd? It's me.'

'Mei? Were are you? We've been looking all over.' He sounded relived.

'I went to my place to get a couple of things and they grounded me!' She could almost guess the reaction he'd be having.

'Can they really do that?'

She smiled, 'Apparently they have more rights over me then Artegor does.'

'Messed up, much? Are you stayin there?'

'Of course I'm not staying, I'm going on a prison break tonight.'

She heard him chuckle, 'Right, meet you outside your window.' then he hung up.

**Ok so, just so you know, I hate changing names but I'm sticking with this one now.**

**I know I've been long to update but I'm naturally lazy, you wouldn't want to go against nature, would you?**

**I need encouragement, people. More I get, faster I update. Simple, no?**


	10. Prison break

**I couldn't apologize enough! I'm late, I know but at least I came back, right? No? Ya mad? Sozzs.**

**This might be the last chapter, it's up to you.**

Sinedd stood firm to his word. Less then an hour after the phone call, Mei saw him making his way over. She opened her window. Luckily, it wasn't the biggest house, not what you'd expect with a mum like Mei's.

Sinedd looked up at her 'Grounded?' he smirked. 'How old are you, nine?'

'Shh, if I know my parents, they wouldn't go to bed until they're sure I'm asleep.' She examined the drop. There was a little window between her balcony and the floor. She guessed she could get passed it without being discovered. That is, if she moves fast.

'Pack a suitcase, we're not coming back here' Sinedd said. Mei went back into her room and onto her hands and knees to drag out her small suitcase. She stuffed as much clobber in as she could, hauled it outside and over the banister, narrowly missing Sinedd. He grumbled something about having better stuff to do than risk his life and walked off.

'Hey, wait I'm sorry' She said through giggles. She climbed over the banister and jumped landing firmly on her heels. She looked sadly at her suitcase, then at him. The guy normally carries the baggage.

He mumbled something about having better stuff to do than slavery, but smiled and picked it up anyways.

They made their way back to Artegor Academy. Laughing about the ridiculousness of Mei's parents. When they arrived, there was a shuttle outside, and the rest of the team throwing their junk into it. Mei stopped dead in her tracks.

'I thought we weren't going for another couple of days.' She says hesitantly, looking at Sinedd suspiciously.

'We weren't gonna leave, until Artegor heard what happened, I managed to spread the word on my way out. Anyways, he was furious. Your parents made an enemy by the way.' he shrugged.

'But, I'm not ready.' she said, shaking her head. Sinedd looked at the suitcase in his hands then at her. 'Yes but…'

Truthfully, she didn't want to leave the SnowKids. Although she turned her nose up at them, she sensed that she still had a place with them.

Sinedd saw her unease, 'we can't put this off, we need to train as early as possible, it's next to impossible if your parents lock you up…'

'This isn't about my parents, they said that I was only grounded until I had to leave.' She didn't think it was a good idea to tell him what was really going on inside her mind. So she said nothing.

He decided to just take her hand and lead her to the aircraft until she dug her feet in and wouldn't go any further. 'What's the matter?' he said, trying to keep his patience. 'I told you that you wouldn't be coming back.'

'I know but I thought you said back to my house.' Mei couldn't resist a glance at the famous Aarch Academy to her left, _what am I thinking, they'd never accept me back_ she thought. She smiled at the confused teen next to her. 'Sorry, 'being silly' she walked over to the shuttle and walked inside. It was pretty much the same style as the SnowKid's one, apart form the colour, black and red, the traditional Shadows.

Mei sat down on the furthest chair and looked out to the snow ridden planet that she called home for the most part of her life.

Sinedd shortly joined her, still frowning, 'What was that, back there?' he nodded towards the door which was slowly closing.

'Nothing, I thought there was something to stay for, I was wrong.' she looked down at her feet.

He put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up and put his forehead against hers, 'You can't fly without your wings, Mei'.

_No, but you can walk_, she decided not to add.

**Well, that's it for now. Tells if you want me to continue, not surprised if you don't. This was probably one of the most tipsy turviest stories out there. I'm not gonna lie, I'm disappointed, but hey, don't mind me.**

**I'll probably concentrate on D'Jok and Mei in the future. Hopefully, it'll work out better.**

**Don't mind criticism , knock yourselves out ;)**


	11. New place, new enemies

**Hey hey, me again! The last chapter was gonna finish this series but no one was happy, and who am I to leave everyone feeling sad?**

Mei sighed as the ship approached the dull toxic planet of the Rykers. It wasn't the biggest planet, probably a bit bigger than Akillian.

They landed swiftly on the rocky surface and waited for the doors to open. Sinedd got up and opened a cabinet overhead. He pulled out a box and gave everyone in turn, their own oxygen masks.

'I think you'll remember how… unpleasant this place is' he joked.

'Yup' she mumbled. They've been travelling for hours and she was bored out of her mind. She still couldn't believe she'd gone ahead and left.

It wasn't a long walk to their hotel. But none of them were used to the oxygen masks, therefore, don't know how to use them properly. They were all huffing and puffing when their destination was in their sights.

Luckily the hotel bas built for tourists and those who weren't quite familiar with the Rykers' way of life.

Once they were in, they unbuckled their masks and welcomed the fresh air. Well, as fresh as it could get in a place like this.

'I have a reservation.' Artegor was already at the reception, barking orders to the jittery woman. Poor girl, came in this morning, slapped on a forced smile and being shouted at by a black-haired demon.

When the rooms were ready, they walked up the stairs, luggage in hand and gave everyone their room keys.

'Mei, you're with Kaya.' her coach said as he threw her the keys. She looked up at Kaya who attempted a smile, or a smirk. Mei couldn't quite tell.

They found their room and barged inside, it was cosy, not exactly five stars but it'll see her through. In the middle of the room, was a normal size bed and, next to it, on the floor was a couple of blankets and a pillow.

Kaya jumped onto the bed, automatically claiming it as her own. Mei wasn't looking forward to tonight, lying on the cold hard floor with nothing but a blanket, she shivered at the thought.

That's later though, for now, she opened the small wardrobe next to her and started ramming her stuff in. Once that was full, she went for the one next to it.

'Na ah ahh' Kaya tutted from the bed. She had a suitcase twice the size of Mei's but then again, there wasn't a shortage of wardrobes, cabinets or drawers.

Mei decided not to pick a fight with this girl. None of the shadows have accepted her, truthfully. And she was too tired to even turn around to glare at her.

'Fifteen minutes 'till training' Artegor was shouting up and down the corridor.

When Kaya set to unpack, Mei watched in amazement, she could've sworn the bag was bigger on the inside. She pulled one thing after another out until all the drawers and cabinets were full and even then, there was still stuff in her case.

With most of her stuff still in her bag, Mei sought out her training gear. Once dressed, she left her roommate alone and followed the signs to the training room.

Relieved to find she was the first to arrive, she slumped into the nearest chair. She was going to miss Tia.

* * *

It was the early hours of the morning in Akillian and D'Jok awoke to a bang overhead followed by Marks roar of a laugh.

He got up, rubbing his head and look over to Micro-ice, who was still snoring with his arm draped over the side of the bed.

It was light, or getting light outside. D'Jok got dressed and went to see what all the havoc was about. He got to the room which was right above his and knocked. Rocket answered with a scowl. Mark was behind him, on the floor busting a gut.

'What happened?' he asked.

Mark got up, ' I was… watching him… sleep' he tried to say through fits of giggles. 'I didn't… think he would… he fell right off… smack bang on his face!'

D'Jok smiled, he didn't think Rocket had it in him. 'Try to get him to calm down' he said to Rocket. 'We don't want him damaging something.'

That said, he turned and went to Aarch's office, to find him talking to Simbai.

'… last night?'

'Yes, she sneaked out of her house, and then they all went. Her parents are frantic.' Simbai said.

D'Jok fled. He ran down the corridors, the stairs and then outside. He went straight to the neighbouring Artegor Academy. And knocked on the door.

Sure enough, there was no answer. He didn't know why he cared, maybe there was a slight slither of hope that… Nope all hopes have now been severed.

Unless…

He walked glumly back inside, back up to his room. He found Micro-ice, now awake, playing on the latest game.

'Hey' he said as he entered the room. 'Do you still have that one-way shuttle the pirates gave you?'

**Ha, suspense.**

**Poor Mei, Kaya isn't really the room mate you'd hope for, huh? Anyways, this could work out…**


	12. Tennis

**Hi again, and welcome to the Jeremy Kyle show. Today, we'll be dealing with another runaway Snow Kid, a bully team mate and goodbyes for the end of this story. Now, let's get on with the show.**

'Hurry up Sinedd, you're falling behind!' Artegor barked into his microphone.

He obviously heard his coach as Sinedd picked up speed and charged like a wild bull, heading strait for the unsuspecting hologram of the Cyclops. The hologram stayed rooted to the spot though like a deer in headlights. Sinedd showed no mercy as he ploughed strait into him, ending with a Cyclopes on the ground and Sinedd looking slightly impatient.

'Don't you think you should kick it up a notch? This is too easy.' He said nudging the ball across the line into the goal.

'Yeah, they're not even moving.' Mei joined in, talking from her position in defence.

They heard Artegor pipe up a sigh 'The whole point of this exercise was teamwork, how many of you had the ball from the starting point?'

Mei looked at Sinedd from across the field who looked smug.

'Exactly!'

'Yeah, fine, but come on, Artegor, look at these things.' Sinedd motioned towards the unmoving hologram on the floor.

'Alright, you want it your way? I'll put in the Rykers.'

'Thank you!' Sinedd mouthed rather angrily, and got back into position.

The quivering Cyclopes' were replaced with buff Rykers, who towered over everyone in the Shadows' team.

The ball shot into the air and before Sinedd could blink, the Rykers attacker was in the air trailing the ball. She caught up and head butted it to a player on her left.

'Just learn the concept of 'team' from these guys' the coach was clearly enjoying himself.

Kaya, the left mid-fielder, who didn't react well to Artegor's fun, attempted to block the path of the ever advancing striker. She shortly found herself in a deadlock, the ball had been passed on. Kaya badly lost though when she found herself on the floor.

Mei got ready as the attacker drew nearer, she quickly intercepted but didn't keep the ball for long as the Rykers seemed to be everywhere at once. They made quick work of the defenders and the goal keeper.

'There you have it. And you know the worst thing? They're gonna be playing at that level tomorrow, now if you stop being all big-headed, maybe we could get in some proper training.' Artegor snapped.

Sinedd clenched his fists and kept his eyes down. Kaya was still on the floor, clenching her shoulder and the rest of them glared at each other.

The pitch faded around them. And they found themselves in a small room facing Artegor.

'I think you over did it a bit.' said Mei as she watched Kaya supported by two others of the team.

'No, I didn't. This is all new gear' he gestured towards the machine. 'This is the exact way they played in their first match and, believe it or not, they lost.' Then he waved a hand at Kaya, 'there must be an infirmary around here somewhere.'

Sinedd sneered, 'who gets injured by a hologram anyways?'

It looked like there would be a fight for a split second when Kaya took a threatening step towards him. They glared at each other for a minute, then she thought better of her actions then to pick a fight with the captain and backed away, staggering out of the door in search for the infirmary.

Sinedd sniffed as though she was a disgusting pest, then he caught Mei eye and winked, she gave like a half smile back.

* * *

'What was that all about?' asked Mei when they walked back towards their hotel rooms.

'What, with Kaya? We never really saw eye to eye, the whole reason she joined the Shadows was to be captain. She's been after me since day one.'

Mei cocked her head in confusion. 'Then why did she back down? She could have shown that she's better than you.'

Sinedd chuckled, 'thanks for the encouragement, Mei. No, she knew Artegor was watching and she's already on thin ice as it is, she puts another foot wrong, she's out.' he looked at Mei's puzzled face, 'it's a long and angry story between the team.'

'I'm team.' she replied, frowning.

'Yes you are but let's not get into this now.' he stopped in front of his door, 'oh, and you'll tell me if she annoys you, won't you?'

She rolled her eyes playfully, 'yes mum.'

He laughed and disappeared into his room.

Mei walked to her own room down the hall and opened the door with her key card. She quickly changed back into her normal clothes and left to explore the hotel. It was nicer than it looked from the outside.

It had an underground swimming pool which was freezing, a tennis court with two boys around her age playing. They stopped to stare at her as she passed.

'You wanna join us?' one of them, the blond haired one asked.

She hesitated, playing tennis was something she's never done before. 'Umm…I don't know how to play.'

'We'll teach you, come on.' he said.

'Yeah, you don't have to stay long.' the other one was darker than his friend but just as good-looking.

'Okay, but just so you know, I'm useless with my hands' she said as she opened the glass door.

'I'm Jamie and that's Charlie.' Said the blond one.

'I'm Mei.' she said, nodding to Charlie on the other side of the net.

'Oh, we know, we're up to date on all the football gossip.' Charlie said with a hint of admiration.

Jamie walked up to Mei and gave her a spare racket. They spent about fifteen minutes learning the basics and Mei was pleased to find that she wasn't as useless as she thought. It was the most fun she'd had in ages.

But then came the real test, her against Jamie, the very thought of having something hurtling at her at above knee level made her shift anxiously.

Jamie hesitated, making sure she was ready, then, pushing his fringe to the side, threw the ball into the air, strait into the service box. She hit it back somewhat clumsily using the forehand.

The game was fair enough, Jamie was going easy on her but as he went for the finishing move, Mei had no time and wasn't in the right place to stop the ball. Just as she thought the game was finished, the ball was shooting back onto Jamie's side.

'Hey, that's not fair!' Jamie laughed.

Charlie had found himself next to Mei, taking up the ready position. He winked at her, 'you're never alone.' he joked.

Although tennis was fun, Mei was used to being on a team, and, with Charlie, the gap of points at the end of the game had closed up.

They were all sitting on a bench, catching their breath.

'What brings you two here, anyways?' Mei asked curiously.

'The match.' Charlie nodded towards her. 'I won a couple of tickets and a free night at this hotel, Jamie was the first one I saw so I decided to take him.'

'I can't believe I've never tried tennis before!' Said Mei, changing the subject.

Jamie raised his eyebrows, 'it's not much compared to _Galactik Football_' he replied exaggeratingly.

'Speaking of which,' She got up, signalling her leave.

'Can you come back tomorrow? You still have to beat me.' Said Charlie putting on his best puppy face.

She couldn't resist a giggle. 'Alright but promise me you'll never do that face again.'

'Deal' he laughed as he got up to shake her hand. Jamie got up to do the same.

Mei got out of the pitch to find a line of angry people waiting outside. 'Whoops, stayed a bit too long I think.' she heard Jamie say when they walked in the opposite direction.

**Alright, I need to know if you liked that tennis scene, it's up to YOU to decide if it goes in the next chapter. Yes, yes, I know it was **_**very**_** random, but I'm a tennis player myself *smug*. On your signal, it'll go strait back to football, just say the word.**

**D'Jok shall be in the next chapter so beware. Ha!**


	13. Shadows vs Rykers

**Yo yo, I've been feeling bad that I haven't updated in a really long time so I thought why not do two chapters in one week. It hopefully makes up a bit for lost time.**

The one way shuttle was in bad condition as it was only supposed to be used once. With some quick explaining to Thran and Ahito, they were able to pull a few strings and tweak it up a bit. It took a day and a night to get it up and running. It chugged somewhat unhealthily but D'Jok was happy with it.

'Do you even know what you're going to say to Mei?' asked Tran as he put in the finishing touches.

'Not yet, I was sorta hoping that the words would just come to me.' D'Jok said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 'You won't tell Aarch where I am will you?'

'No way, man' Ahito came round the corner, carrying a mobile.

Micro-ice who was sitting in the corner, watching curiously, added 'we'll just tell him you came down with flu. Simbai will stand up for us, won't she?'

'Done,' Thran grinned admiring his work 'it's a little dodgy, though, I'm afraid it might not go directly to the Rykers planet. You might have to pit in between to get more fuel or even better, get a new vehicle.'

'That can't be too hard, what are the planets from here to there?' D'jok was trying to picture the galaxy in his head.

'Lightnings' and the Shadows' Ahito laughed, 'I know which one I'd choose.' He passed the mobile to D'Jok, 'If you get stuck or something, give us a bell.'

'Thanks to both of you.' he said as he walked to the shuttle.

'No problem, we were bored out of our minds' Thran gave his brother a playful shove. 'it was like Christmas came early.'

It took ages to find out which way to point the shuttle so that it headed the right way. Once that was done, D'Jok climbed into the cramped space and shut the door, he gave a final salute, pushed the engine button and then he was soaring into the air, further and further away from Akillian. From what Tran had told him, it'll be quite a long three hours, so he sat back and watched his friends get smaller and smaller and, gradually the planet became a white dot amongst the stars.

* * *

The rest of the day became quite nerve racking. Mei went to the infirmary to find Kaya, on Artegor's orders. He wanted to know if she'll be able to play tomorrow, not because he cared, just because he needed to tell the reporters who will be playing before the match.

She knocked on the door. A big woman popped her head around the corner as though she was hiding something top secret inside.

'Hi, I'm here to see Kaya.' she said politely. The woman nodded, opened the door and gestured Mei to enter.

Kaya was on a bed in the middle of the room, looking out of the window. As Mei approached, she turned her head towards her, sneered and went back to looking out the window. She had a sling over her shoulder.

'How are you?' Mei asked stupidly.

'Glorious.' There was silence in the room apart from the stressing click clicking of the nurses shoes. 'Those bloody machines are getting more and more dangerous. I got a dislocated shoulder, did you see the way that thing ran into me?'

Mei nodded hesitantly, she's never been more uncomfortable. 'Will you be able to play tomorrow?' she tried to asked the question as kindly as possible.

Kaya shrugged, eyes still fixed on the window, 'I don't think so, the nurse says I'll be out for days.'

Mei got the information she came for but she didn't want to leave. She felt sorry for her injured team mate. Then a thought came to her.

'What was that with Sinedd, anyways?' Mei wanted to hear Kaya's side of the story.

She whipped her head round so fast, her eyes glinting with curiosity. 'What? Why do you care about me and Sinedd?'

'Well, he told me you wanted to be captain ever since you joined the Shadows…'

Kaya chuckled humourlessly, 'that's half of it. Both Sinedd and Artegor have been looking for a reason to throw me off the team. I only got on it because my dad works at Genisis stadium, he paid Artegor. But he also told Artegor that I was his responsibility after that, that he stood by any decision that Artegor made. My father was a nasty piece of work, he agreed to get me on the team and I should make my way up from there. And then Sinedd came in.' She paused, a frown forming on her brow. 'He and Artegor think that the Shadows is no place for girls, or, that's what he told me anyways. That's why I was so confused when he seemed to welcome you with open arms.'

It certainly was confusing, why had Sinedd offered her the job? Kaya and Mei were the only girls on the Shadows team.

Mei had misjudged Kaya, she thought before that she was some stuck up brat but now Mei realised that it was either be tough or get out.

'Don't take this the wrong way, Mei, but I don't think you came on the team from the goodness of Sinedd's heart.' then Kaya went back to looking out of the window. Mei knew she wasn't about to get more out of her tonight. So she left the infirmary and strolled up to Artegor's quarters, she told him that Kaya wasn't fit to play tomorrow then left in search for Sinedd.

She found him exactly where she left him, in his room.

'Hey' he smiled as he answered the door but now that she looked closely, the smile didn't meet his eyes.

'You conveniently forgot the part about Kaya's father.' Mei said defiantly, crossing her arms.

Sinedd's smile instantly left his face, 'So? He paid Artegor, you can't provoke a coach like that, and Artegor couldn't have refused for obvious reasons.'

'Alright,' Mei stood her ground, 'tell me why I'm on the team, then.'

'Way to change to subject, Mei.' He attempted a weak laugh, but he knew he was in dangerous waters. 'You needed a place to go!'

'So you just accept people, like that?' she clicked her fingers.

'What did Kaya tell you?' anger appeared in his eyes.

'Way to change the subject, Sinedd.' Their voices were growing louder and louder. 'Now tell me, why am I on this team?'

'I…I just' Sinedd was obviously not used to being put on the spot like that. The fire in him died out and he just looked like a wet puppy.

'You don't care about me. You never did. I was trying really hard on this team. All you care about is getting back at D'Jok.' With that, she turned on her heel and marched off.

Mei was visibly brighter than he thought.

That night, in her room, Mei let the tears fall. Not so much because of Sinedd but mostly because she felt used. No one had ever gone through her to get to someone else. She sat up in her bed and hugged her legs. The whole team had to have known. She was a joke, it was so obvious. Everyone must've already found out by themselves. Everyone must know Sinedd used her to get to D'Jok. Tia knew, Mei remembered the look of pity in her eyes the last time she visited Aarch academy. There was no other explanation, if she'd got it wrong, wouldn't Sinedd've ran after her?

Tomorrow was Rykers vs. Shadows and she wasn't sure at all how it was going to go.

* * *

The next day gradually came and Mei hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. Her eyes were red and puffy but she didn't bother to get up and join the rest of the team for a 'hearty' breakfast.

On any other occasion, Mei would've walked out and had nothing more to do with the Shadows but if she did walk out, she would find herself in the middle of an intoxicated planet with no way of getting back home.

She passed lunch also in her room, the match was in an hours time. So she got up and started pulling her black gear on. Once she finished tying her shoes, she stood up strait and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked oddly pale and felt exactly how she looked.

Mei wondered around until she found her team huddled in the middle of the lounge. She kept a few steps back from everyone else.

They eventually broke up and headed for the field. No one gave her a second glance.

The stadium was jam packed and is was probably the first time Mei had stage fright. She suddenly had a great phobia of people. She arrived on the pitch and never felt frailer. She was brought back to the thought she had last night, all these people thinking that she's everybody's fool.

She bent over, put her hands on her knees and took a few deep breaths. Telling herself over and over _I just have to get through this match._

Running on zero energy, her head was spinning like crazy. She managed to stagger to her position in front of the goal and watched nervously as the Rykers made their entrance, looking bigger and more intimidating than she remembered.

Before long, the buzzer started, signalling the start of the game.

Sinedd was determined not to go down without a fight. He jumped, sprinted, intercepted, sprinted some more but that didn't stop the Rykers from scoring again and again.

The first part went on forever to Mei and she has never been more relieved when the buzzer went again. The exited the field three - nil.

Sinedd let it be known that he was not at all happy with the team's performance. He paced around the room, throwing his hands up in the air then he turned on Mei.

'You had plenty of opportunities to take the ball.' and on he went.

* * *

You can't be claustrophobic, thought D'Jok as he neared the Lightning's planet, suffering greatly from jetlag. His little shuttle was sputtering and wheezing. He'd been travelling for two hours and a half. A low beeping sound indicated to him that he was loosing fuel. He willed it on, just for the final distance to the planet.

He landed with a loud thunk and got out to survey his surroundings. With luck, he'd landed next to a large city.

D'Jok started walking and didn't stop until he'd found a hopeful chance of a vehicle. There was a man outside a rundown looking store which didn't fit in with the rest of the city. The man was renting out ships and, luckily, he was a Snow Kids fan. D'Jok traded a signed picture for a ship.

It wasn't anything special but it'll get him to the Rykers quickly enough. With some fiddling, he was back up in the air.

* * *

The second half of the match was due to start any minute, on the field, Sinedd gave Mei a hard shove in the direction of the goal.

'Try to look more alive this time.' He said.

It passed a lot like the first half, Mei's field of vision was blurred, probably from lack of sleep or starvation or dehydration, most likely a mixture of the all. She caught Sinedd's eye as he gave her a meaningful look.

She then noticed the Rykers charging towards her. She took a step forwards, prepared herself and then, what she didn't need, she received a knee in the stomach. All the breath went out of her and she was knocked onto her back.

What seemed like an eternity passed, but it must've only been a few seconds. Mei eventually sat up, feeling all the more dizzy. With tears in her eyes, she mustered the last of her strength and ran off the field.

She slumped in the nearest chair, her head in her hands and let all her feelings out. She stayed like that, for a few minutes, not moving until she heard her name.

Jamie and Charlie rounded the corner, they saw that she was crying and they sat on either side of her.

'How did you get back here?' she hiccupped, franticly wiping away her tears.

'We can be really sneaky.' Said Jamie. 'Come on, we'll take you to a happier place.' they each took one of her hands and helped her to her feet.

'Did you get any sleep last night?' Charlie tutted when she shook her head. 'Eat anything at all today?' again, she shook her head. Nothing else was said until they reached the tennis court, maybe they wanted to spare her the humiliation of what just happened.

The court was deserted, everyone was watching the match, 'could I be alone for a few minutes?'

'Sure' Jamie said putting a friendly hand on her shoulder.

Once they had gone, Mei took one of the rackets in the corner and started turning it in her hand. She picked up a ball and bounced it on the racket.

'Tennis, huh?'

Mei spun around to find D'Jok leaning against the door. She turned her head away, tears welling in her eyes.

'I heard what happened. News travels quickly around here.'

'No need to tell me that I'd made a mistake, I already found that one out on my own.' Mei was surprised at how strong her voice sounded.

She heard D'Jok push off against the door and walk towards her.

'Mei?' She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. 'Mei look at me.' When she didn't he reached around and put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head towards him. He was shocked at how vulnerable she looked. He saw that she was almost broken. 'I didn't come to tell you you've made a mistake.' Mei frowned but before she could ask anything, he bent down and brushed his lips against hers. 'I came to tell you that _I_ have. I didn't realise what you meant to me until I lost you.' he whispered, his own tears falling down his face.

Mei flung her arms around his neck and they stood there hugging, in the middle of the tennis court.

* * *

D'Jok helped Mei pack all of her stuff and they headed outside and, with a last visit to Kaya, explaining everything, they ran quickly to the ship parked just outside.

They were soon in the air and heading back to Akillian.

'Do you have any food in here? I'm starving.' Mei asked. There was a load of fruit in the back, once she ate as much as she could, she settled into the front seat. She soon fell asleep. D'Jok was glad to see that she had rosy cheeks and she was smiling to herself. He felt that he'd fixed the broken.

**Yes, yes yeeeessss. I'm going out with a BANG! That's it folks, tell us what you think and I'm especially sorry to all the reviews I haven't answered. Thanks to all who've stuck with me! Love ya'll. xx**


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